Star vampire
Encyclopedia
A star vampire is a monster in the Cthulhu Mythos
. The being first appeared in Robert Bloch
's short story
"The Shambler from the Stars", which was originally published in the September 1935
issue of Weird Tales
.
The star vampire dwells in outer space and is characterized by its ravenous appetite for blood. The creature uses its enormous talons to capture its prey, grappling and crushing the unfortunate and then draining the victim's blood through its tubular suckers. It is normally invisible, but following a sanguine repast, the star vampire becomes temporarily visible from the undigested blood it has absorbed.
The monster is always accompanied by a sardonic, preternatural titter which heralds its imminent arrival and marks its presence, even when it is invisible. After it has fed, the star vampire quickly departs, the eerie, ghastly laughter following in its wake. The occult book De Vermis Mysteriis
(or Mysteries of the Worm) contains a spell for summoning the creature; though doing so is often dangerous, as the thirsty star vampire is likely to feast on its caller.
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
. The being first appeared in Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
's short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"The Shambler from the Stars", which was originally published in the September 1935
1935 in literature
The year 1935 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* June 15 - W. H. Auden enters a marriage of convenience with Erika Mann.* July 30 - Allen Lane founds Penguin Books to publish the first mass market paperbacks in Britain....
issue of Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
.
Summary
It was red and dripping; an immensity of pulsing, moving jelly; a scarlet blob with myriad tentacular trunks that waved and waved. There were suckers on the tips of the appendages, and these were opening and closing with a ghoulish lust.... The thing was bloated and obscene; a headless, faceless, eyeless bulk with the ravenous maw and titanic talons of a star-born monster. The human blood on which it had fed revealed the hitherto invisible outlines of the feaster.
—Robert Bloch, "The Shambler from the Stars"
The star vampire dwells in outer space and is characterized by its ravenous appetite for blood. The creature uses its enormous talons to capture its prey, grappling and crushing the unfortunate and then draining the victim's blood through its tubular suckers. It is normally invisible, but following a sanguine repast, the star vampire becomes temporarily visible from the undigested blood it has absorbed.
The monster is always accompanied by a sardonic, preternatural titter which heralds its imminent arrival and marks its presence, even when it is invisible. After it has fed, the star vampire quickly departs, the eerie, ghastly laughter following in its wake. The occult book De Vermis Mysteriis
De Vermis Mysteriis
De Vermis Mysteriis, or Mysteries of the Worm, is a fictional grimoire created by Robert Bloch and incorporated by H. P. Lovecraft into the lore of the Cthulhu Mythos.-Creation:...
(or Mysteries of the Worm) contains a spell for summoning the creature; though doing so is often dangerous, as the thirsty star vampire is likely to feast on its caller.